The USA’s Rugby World Cup arrives very, very soon with the first match against Samoa kicking off at 7am ET, 4am PT on Sunday, Sept. 20.

For the two USA scrumhalves, it’s a very different opening weekend. Mike Petri is playing in his third World Cup, and is the established starer. Niku Kruger earned his first cap this summer, and is just getting started.

"I’m really excited, we have been working on something really special here. The chemistry and the culture is something I have never experienced before,” said Petri, who starred for Xavier HS and Penn State before becoming an Eagle. "I’m used to playing on the big stage and I know how special it is to be a part of something like that, and having that experience on my side I think will really help in the tough matches."

Kruger is expected to be on the bench for the USA games, but hopes to see some minutes. The South African-born scrumhalf played his collegiate career at Kutztown University, and he notes that players on the Eagles come from all walks of life.

“We’ve got diversity in our team. We’ve got some who play locally in America, and some players based overseas, so when we get together we all bring a different set of skills to the table,” he said. And they are all looking to that first game. “Samoa have a bunch of really good players, playing all over the world. We’re expecting them to bring it to us. But as Americans we’re also known for our physicality. So it’s going to be a very interesting battle to see what happens when these two physical teams come together: a real clash of the titans.”

Samoa has won all four meetings between the two nations, but all four scores were within a converted try.